World's smallest car in action
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Chrysler/Fiat not a slam-dunk
Posted by Joe Harmon
Lots of Americans are excited about the possibility of a merger between Chrysler and Fiat. I am not one of them. In a time of such economic doom and gloom, the faint possibility of a better situation can be good news - but I want more.
At first glance, the optimists have a case. The relationship will almost certainly be different from the Daimler/Chrysler fiasco. Fiat gets a nearly-free entry pass into Chrysler’s extensive dealer network in the US, while Chrysler gets small car technology and access to overseas markets. Both seem to be open to the kind of platform and product sharing that could have made Daimler/Chrysler a success over a decade ago. Sounds great, right?
But what’s really so great about it? I'm still struggling to work out how the deal will help Chrysler. The reason Chrysler doesn’t have a car like the Fiat 500 in its line-up is because history shows that Americans won’t buy one, not because Chrysler engineers and designers are too dumb to figure out how to build it. Even mighty Honda doesn’t try to sell a car like this in the US. Bringing a rebadged 500 to America is a cheaper experiment than engineering one from scratch, but adding another car that won’t sell to the mix isn’t what anyone wants.
Surely the Frank-Stephenson-designed Fiat Bravo is a nicer car than the abominable Dodge Caliber, and pulling a switcheroo here could conceivably make sense. Unfortunately, Saturn didn’t have much luck slinging Astras through its US dealers, and I wouldn’t expect much better from the Bravo if it made its way here. Good designers are deeply in touch with the people that make up the market they are designing for, and the choices they make for their products rarely resonate with a totally different group.
I had a friend who designed American products for the US division of a German company, and he was constantly fighting the battle of telling designers from the parent company that we do things differently here. His fight brought better, more relevant products to the US and helped the company. Both the German and US versions were great products for their markets, but if the company had merely brought its German wares unchanged to the US, they would have failed miserably.
With this in mind, bringing what’s right for Italy and other parts of Europe to the US is far from a certainty to be a runaway sales phenomenon. A rough economy and the threat of higher fuel prices has Americans thinking frugally, but I don’t see current Fiat product as the white horse that will carry Chrysler off into the sunset. Everyone wants things to go well - but with so much work to do, it’s still too early to get excited.
Top Gear doesn’t need a female presenter
Posted by Cameron Countach
During its 32 year history, top motoring show Top Gear has never been without it moments of controversy - especially since Jeremy Clarkson joined the show. However, this time around, the lovable Clarkson hasn’t been the one stirring up the trouble. Instead, Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman, of all people, has been criticising Top Gear as not being representative of the British population, suggesting that it should have a female presenter (to meet the demands of her Equality Bill). My response: I don’t think so, Harriet…
I’m not against women presenting a motoring TV show. But as far as Top Gear is concerned, the all male presenter format works extraordinarily well and is why it is one of the country’s most love shows. For me, it’s a bit like introducing a male host to ITV’s Loose Women. It just wouldn’t work, would it?
The current series of Top Gear works because of the camaraderie and genuine friendship between the male hosts. To now introduce a female host because it’s the politically correct thing to do, would be the wrong decision. Even the thought of adding another guy to the show, or even replacing one of the presenters with someone else, just wouldn’t feel right. Clarkson, May and Hammond are the dream team of television presenting.
And, more to the point, who would you introduce as this must-have female presenter? My only candidate right now would be the brilliant Claire Balding, a presenter known for dropping the clanger of all clangers with her comment about the Grand National winner’s teeth needing to be fixed. But even then, it just wouldn’t feel right.
Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with having a female presenter on a motoring show, but to now change the format just to be politically correct, would be absolute madness. It would make more sense to invest funds in a new TV format that features both male and female presenters than to mess with one that is so crucial to the success of the show.
And, if we’re honest, this cry is coming from Harriet Harman, someone who should be more concerned with the credit crunch and our (exaggerated) demise at the hands of the pig flu than trivial matters that concern the gender of the presenters of a BBC TV show.
To finish off: Yes, it would be great to see more women presenters on car TV programmes, something that can already be seen on Fifth Gear the Usedcar Roadshow, but Top Gear is certainly not one of them. As they say, if ain’t broke, don’t fix…
